A three-day, full-time, intensive PhD course on Retail Operations and Analytics.

When: 17-20 September 2023
Where: Stockholm Business School, Stockholm University

Supported by EURO and the Swedish Wholesale and Retail Council

What

The aim of this course is to further develop doctoral students’ skills and knowledge on how machine learning and analytics can be used to analyze and solve Operations Management problems in the retail industry.

Over the last decade, the retail industry has transformed completely. Having been dominated by brick-and-mortar retailers, the retail industry now consists of a smorgasbord of hybrid omni-channel formats combining online and brick-and-mortar channels in different ways. This shift has lead to numerous challenges for retailers on how to best organize and operate to meet the needs of its customers in a financially and environmentally sustainable way. At the same time, numerous digital tools means there is more data available than ever to help retailers in making these decisions.

Upon successful completion of the course, students will have a sound understanding of how novel methods for data analysis can be used to analyze and improve retail operations. In particular, participants are expected to:

• Possess an advanced knowledge base on operations research and other analytics methodologies in the context of retail operations
• Be able to critically evaluate and assess different methodological approaches in relation to their own PhD research
• Be able to communicate and discuss complex operational problems in retail operations with their peers and experts in the field
• Be able to design solution approaches for industrial case studies and present these to relevant stakeholders

For whom

The course is intended for doctoral students of Operations Management or similar field (industrial engineering, operations research, business economics etc.), interested in building a sound understanding of concepts, methods and tools to improve retail operations.

We expect the course to be particularly useful for students motivated to develop OR tools to solve real cases in Retail contexts.

Content

The course consists of three full days of course work, together with four weeks of individual studies on a case assignment and a full day to report the case assignment. Students are also expected to participate in the EWG annual meeting which will be held in the days following the summer school. The course work combines hands-on tutorials on selected topics on the interface of operations research and retail operations. Over the course of the three days, there is also time for relaxed time slots to discuss PhD research plans with peers and expert guests from the field.

• Sep 17: Arrival and dinner
• Sep 18: From Operations to Machine Learning: The Case of Choice Modelling, Ali Aouad, London Business School, U.K. and Antoine Desir, INSEAD, France; practitioner round-table and social activities
• Sep 19: Causal Inference in Operations Analytics, Fredrik Eng-Larsson and Olov Isaksson, Stockholm University, Sweden; PhD research plans workshop and social activities
• Sep 20: Case study on analytics in retail operations with mentoring sessions, Victor Martinez de Albeniz, IESE Business School

The case assignments will be based on a real case from industry, which will be prepared by the course faculty and scientific committee. Students will work in multidisciplinary teams and will be able to interact in different formats with company representatives and mentors (a Senior EWG Retail Ops member). After four weeks of individual case work the class will meet to discuss the case assignment.

Fee and registration

Participation is €400, which includes accommodation, all meals, and social activities. Accommodation is provided in double rooms, but option of single rooms is offered with extra payment. Travel costs should be covered by the participants, either themselves or through external funding.

Apply by January 20, 2023 to ewg@sbs.su.se.

Application should include:
- Application letter including:

• Name, affiliation and email address
• Phd Program you are enrolled in, current supervisors’ names
• Background in Retail and in Operations management
• Motivation to attend the Phd summer school

- Short Curriculum Vitae
- Recommendation letter from the PhD supervisor

Notifications of acceptance is expected February 2023.